First Impressions: The Fix Up Part 23

"Yeah?"

"Definitely."

"I'm glad."

She moved back, still eager to crawl all over him, but knowing it was more important now to reconnect on a different plane. "Okay then," she said, licking her lips. "Get ready to have your thumb's a.s.s kicked."

Epilogue.

"And that concludes today's presentation on the branding plan for the new philanthropic arm of Langley Enterprises. Does anyone have any questions?"

Holly pivoted at the front of the conference room to see Ben raising his hand. She smiled and pointed a manicured finger at him. "Yes, you there in front. What was your name again?"

"Benjamin Monroe Langley, but you can just call me your fiance."

The word sent a bolt of pleasure coursing through her all over again, even though she'd had a month to get used to the idea of marrying Ben and three more since they first stripped off their clothes in this very conference room.

"Yes, Mr. Fiance," she said, doing her best to maintain her business decorum even though they were the only two people in the room. "You had a question?"

"I did. I was wondering if you could tell me more about the penetrative testing involved with this product launch."

Holly grinned and folded her arms over her chest. "Well, first we debriefed, then firmed up our action plan, and finally we had a robust interface."

Ben smiled and pushed his gla.s.ses up his nose. "I can get behind that."

She giggled and sat down beside him. "Seriously, what did you think? I know this is your pet project, and I want to make sure we do it justice."

"I think it's amazing," he said, leaning in for a kiss. "I especially love your proposal for Judy's Hope."

"I'm so glad. I wanted to incorporate your mother's legacy into it somehow, and it just made sense that the program funding cancer research should be named after her."

"She'd be very proud."

"She'd be very proud of you, Ben." She squeezed his hand. "Watching you evolve into the sort of CEO you were meant to be, instead of the CEO your father wanted you to be-I just wish she'd gotten to see it, too."

He smiled. "I think she'd be even more proud to see how wisely I've chosen her future daughter-in-law."

He leaned close, planting another kiss on her lips, and Holly slid her fingers into his hair to kiss him back hard and deep and sure.

"Okay, you two, put your clothes back on!" Miriam burst into the room with one hand covering her eyes, a look of mock disgust scrunching up her features. "Oh, who am I kidding? I kinda want to see Hottie McCEO in his undies."

"Nice effort, but no cigar," Ben said. "Better luck next time."

Miriam shrugged and dropped into a chair beside Ben. "Can't blame a girl for trying."

Holly sat down on the other side of Ben and kicked her shoes off. Ben reached down and pulled her feet into his lap. He wrapped his ma.s.sive palms around the arch of one foot and began to ma.s.sage her heel.

"Thank you, honey," she said, relaxing into her seat.

"My pleasure."

"I think I've almost got this Kleinberger presentation dialed in," Holly said, turning back to Miriam. "Do we have all the video footage finished?"

"We do, but that's not why I came in here. You know that meeting we scheduled for tomorrow afternoon?"

"The one with Urban Trax?"

"Yep. It's been cancelled."

"What's Urban Trax?" Ben asked.

"Only the second largest sporting goods retailer in the United States," Miriam said.

"And the fact that you haven't heard of them is exactly why they need our help rebranding," Holly added before turning back to Miriam. "So what's the problem?"

"They fired their CEO. I guess there was some sort of scandal. I didn't press for details."

"Oh no! So now what are they going to do?"

Miriam shrugged. "Sounds like they've already got a new CEO lined up and he wants to keep moving ahead. But he wants to meet with us first. Start over from ground zero, really a.s.sess where they're going."

"Ugh," Holly said, closing her eyes. "We're too swamped with other work to pile more on our plates. Do you think we should hire someone else to help restart the process?"

"I might have the bandwidth," Miriam said. "I just handed off the Jamboree Jams account to Sarah, so I have an unexpected opening in my schedule."

"You?" Ben said. "In charge of a sporting goods store?" He grinned and squeezed Holly's foot. "This should be interesting."

Miriam rolled her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean, Smarty McSnootypants?"

"Just that you're the last person in the world I could ever imagine working with a client like that. Your idea of outdoorsy is walking from the car to the nail salon."

Holly laughed, secretly delighted by the teasing that always erupted between Ben and her best friend. "And your idea of roughing it is having to wait two weeks between pedicure appointments," she chimed in. "Or missing your morning espresso from Starbucks."

"And her favorite form of exercise is running-her charge card!"

"Yeah, yeah," Miriam said, waving a dismissive hand. "And the last time I went hiking was when the escalator broke at Barney's. I've heard it. I still think I can handle the account."

"Oh, I don't doubt you can handle it," Holly said. "My question is whether they can handle you?"

Miriam grinned and folded her arms over her chest. "I certainly hope so."

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Acknowledgments.

Thanks so much to my brilliant and beautiful critique partners and beta readers, Cynthia Reese, Linda Grimes, Larie Borden, Bridget McGinn, and Minta Powelson. You never cease to amaze me with your insightful commentary and your willingness to read my early draft drivel.

As always, I'm hugely grateful for my agent, Mich.e.l.le Wolfson. Thanks for sticking with me through thick and thin and making this whole publishing thing both bearable and fun. Looks like our train is finally rolling, huh?

Endless thanks to the whole Entangled team, including Heather Howland, Stephen Morgan, Liz Pelletier, Debbie Suzuki, Jessica Turner, Melanie Smith, Heather Riccio, Crystal Havens, Julia Knapman, and anyone else I may have omitted but am nonetheless indebted to for your tireless work and endless talent. I also tip my hat to Danielle Sanchez and the rest of the crew at Inkslinger PR.

Oodles of grat.i.tude to all my Facebook pals who came through for me with delightfully filthy business jargon. Much love and thanks to Lorainne Hollister, Trisha Leigh Zieghorn, Bayley Shirley, Lori Robinett, Peter Koevari, Laura Bickle, Dawn Metcalf, Meg West, Beth Merlott Reinker, Deb Ofstedal, Elizabeth E. Neal, Jenna McCarthy, Pat O'Rourke, Monica Stecher, Judah McAuley, Sally Schrumph, Jessica Lemmon, Hank Therien, Bri Brey, Terri Lynn Coop, David Spillet, CeliaSue Hecht, Kellie Flanagan, Paul Henry, Laura Crawford, Jeff Taylor, Kim Garrity Geer, Ann Marie Patterson, Justin Farmer, Marcy Whittington Meyer, Jane Wu, Kari Lynn Dell, Kim Rossi Stagliano, Phil Hall, Gina Todaro Freed, Vince Gordon, Aric Bright, Scott Caputo, Hanna St. John, Glen Gerrard Thuncher, Ryan Ositis, and James Justt.

I'm so very thankful for the love and support of my family, Dixie and David Fenske, Aaron and Carlie Fenske, and my awesome stepkids, Cedar and Violet. I'm so lucky to have all of you.

And thank you to Craig for being the s.e.xiest geek I know (and a d.a.m.n fine husband to boot). Love you, baby!.

About the Author.

Tawna Fenske traveled a career path that took her from newspaper reporter to English teacher in Venezuela to marketing geek to PR manager for her city's tourism bureau. An avid globetrotter and social media fiend, Tawna is the author of the popular blog, Don't Pet Me, I'm Writing, and a member of Romance Writers of America. She lives with her husband in Bend, Oregon, where she'll invent any excuse to hike, bike, snowshoe, float the river, or sip wine on her back deck. She's published several romantic comedies with Sourcebooks, including Making Waves, which was nominated for contemporary romance of the year by RT Book Reviews. She also writes heartwarming series books for Entangled Publishing, and tender, funny romances for Montlake Publishing. Tawna's quirky brand of comedy and romance has won praises from Kirkus Reviews, which noted, "Up-and-coming romance author Fenske sets up impeccable internal and external conflict and sizzling s.e.xual tension for a poignant love story between two engaging characters, then infuses it with witty dialogue and lively humor. An appealing blend of lighthearted fun and emotional tenderness."

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